English forward John Bateman has officially left the Wests Tigers for the remainder of the 2024 NRL season.
Left out of this week's game against the New Zealand Warriors without anything more than a passing comment from the club, the Tigers have now made his release official shortly after kick-off on Friday evening in Auckland.
The club confirmed he will join the Warrington Wolves for the remainder of the 2024 season in the English Super League, but did not suggest this was the end of the edge forward's time at Tiger Town.
Instead, the club confirmed he is contracted to the Tigers for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and Shane Richardson - the club's CEO - would only provide a brief comment.
โJohn leaving Wests Tigers for the back end of the season is something that all parties are comfortable with," Richardson said in a brief statement confirming the news.
The Tigers' forward has struggled for form throughout the 2024 NRL season, and has failed to live up to the value of his contract thus far at the joint-venture, playing 32 games since he joined at the start of the 2023 season when Tim Sheens was still in charge.
A coaching change a season ahead of schedule with Benji Marshall taking over has failed to bring any real chance for Bateman in form, and there have been reports this week that he is unlikely to return to the Tigers in 2025, and could instead link up with Wayne Bennett at the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Bateman moving to Warrington means he links up with Sam Burgess effective immediately on the push to the English Super League finals.
